Boots at the Manger
Coming home from a blustery Christmas Eve, and getting the baby ready for supper and bed, his boots were set down on the coffee table. Supper commenced, much delight was shared across four generations, and the little tyke fell happily asleep well before the evening was over.
After cleanup and goodnights, I came into the living room again. Christmas tree lights cast a warm glow in the silent room. And there, standing before the manger, were the boots. It hadn’t been intentional, but the simple placement of tiny shoes whispered prophetically over this child’s life. He has been rescued from several inconceivables and is a foster child in the safety of the Esmé Home. Tiny though he is, God saw him, and rescued his life. Young as he is, something in his spirit recognizes the peace and safety of worship. He lights up at every inkling of praise. He is a treasure and his little boots placed silently before the Christ-child on Christmas Eve is reflective of how a little child can often point us to Jesus.
Having this little boy join us and be so enamored by praise and worship, I am reminded of how Jesus said that to enter the kingdom of God we must become like little children. (Matthew 18:3) In fact, he went on to say, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14)
In this current and bizarre era when there are actually humans who have such disregard for life that they have concocted twisted justifications to murder infants, openly exchange body parts, and garner political and financial support so to do, it does us well to pause before the Manger and realize that God Himself Intentionally Chose to Come and be Incarnate as one of these tiny, fragile, helpless infants.
Sometimes the most poignant and heart stopping voice is the silent one. Jesus, newborn, wrapped in sheep rags, in a manger was a baby just like this little boy entrusted to us. Like him his immune system was fragile, his fontanel throbbed with the pulse of a tiny, beating heart, and he had no language except large, trusting eyes and body language to let his mother know his needs. Like every baby in the womb, and every infant born today, Jesus felt pain, exchanged DNA with his mother, and was entirely dependent on the adults in his life to be kept safe. His future potential to grow, be fed, kept clean, and experience love was fully entrusted in the hands of two imperfect human beings.
Jesus also needed the intervention of His Heavenly Father. In Matthew 2:13, God sent an angel to waken Joseph and tell him to take the child and his mother by night to Egypt because the powers that be were coming to try and murder him. God still speaks today, knocking at the hearts of people who must be attuned to hearing His Voice. There are thousands of children who need safe foster homes, tens of thousands of innocents who need rescuing from human trafficking, and millions who are orphans. As overwhelming as these numbers are, mathematically, if every church came around even one foster-to-adopt home and equipped them to fully devote their time to rescuing children from abortion, human trafficking and the vulnerability of orphanhood, the issue would be resolved.
Thankfully, our church has done that. And the tiny boots at the manger speak volumes of Hope for the future of the children at the Esmé Home.